BAYLOR LINEBACKER FEELS RIGHT AT HOME

Vista Murrieta grad Lackey says ‘it’s an awesome thing’ to be in bowl game near his roots

“I think it’s been the key to our team’s turnaround,” Briles said. “We’ve been taking care of the ball on offense and getting it on defense.”

Lackey said he’s part of a talented group that makes it easy for him to make plays.

“I think it’s just the energy we have in our linebacker corps,” Lackey said. “Ahmad (Dixon) brings a lot of rah-rah to us, has the electric speed and can be all over the field. Bryce (Hager) can make a tackle anywhere on the field. He’s a tackling machine. I think it’s just we’re finally clicking and comfortable with the defense.”

Tonight when Lackey looks across the field at Qualcomm Stadium, he’ll see his best friend and high school teammate, Ryan Hofmeister, a backup linebacker for UCLA. They met as Pop Warner kids. Both of them were deemed too small out of high school to play Division I football. But Hofmeister chose Riverside CC for a journey that led to UCLA. He paved the way for his buddy to do the same. They eventually reached their goals, their dreams.

“Ryan took the junior college route right out of high school,” Lackey said. “When I saw he got an offer from UCLA, I decided to transfer back to Riverside and take that route, too. I actually played the same position he played and then got picked up by Baylor. Now the stars are all aligned to play on the same field in a bowl game. It’s amazing, really.”